


Our Get-Along Handcuffs

by The_Gay_Cousin



Category: Brittana - Fandom, Glee
Genre: Complete, F/F, Handcuffs, Loosely based on, Some Fluff, Some angst, but not in a kinky way, some smut, you instead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 02:10:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Gay_Cousin/pseuds/The_Gay_Cousin
Summary: Will Schuester's genius lesson idea this week? Handcuff members of the glee club together for the week to try to stop their bickering. Perfectly timed of course with Santana realising her true feelings for Brittany and having to spend the week cuffed to Artie, Brittany's current boyfriend. Also I put Rachel and Quinn together if anyone wants to run with that but it's not prominent in the fic. The Smut doesn't really come into effect until the last chapter and it's pretty tame, but there's mature topics referenced/implied throughout.





	1. Chapter 1

_Santana._

 

“Hey Santana what the hell is this?” Puck stormed into the choir room brandishing his phone. 

Even from across the room Santana recognised the video that was playing on the small screen- her on her knees in front of one of the football jocks. Her stomach turned and she felt that same queasy feeling of shame that’d been lingering since last night when she’d first performed the act on Puck’s teammate. She was sure that this was the particular issue in hand, not that she’d cheated but that it was with one of Puck's “bros”. She’d walked into school this morning to hundreds of pairs of judgemental eyes staring at her, accompanied by whispers, sniggers and wolf whistles. Santana did now as she’d done earlier, held her chin high and prepared to let loose a healthy dose of snixx juice. 

“It’s called oral sex, you should try it some time.” She sneered back, wishing he’d turn the video off, she could hear noises that she did not want to think about. Every glee club member in the room had swivelled to watch their encounter, almost all of them wearing expressions of disgust except for Brittany, who just looked sad. Santana couldn’t tell if her friend was sympathetic or disappointed, and the thought that it might be the latter stabbed her in the gut. 

“I know _what_ it is, I’ve had it plenty of times." Puck retorted, eyes quickly flicking around the room no doubt to check his reputation was not affected at all. 

“No see, try giving it out, and then maybe the girls you sleep with will want to come back for seconds.” 

“Well then why do _you_ keep coming back?” He smirked. 

“Don’t kid yourself that it’s for anything other than your Breadsticks loyalty card.” Sananta huffed and Puck stomped to the back of the choir room to drop into a seat. The room was quiet and she stood and walked to the front of the room where Mr Schue would normally stand. 

“Yes, it's true. I’ve released a sex tape to get my foot in the door to fame.” She announced, aware that at least half the room didn't believe her. “It’s no big deal, Kim Kardashian has one and she’s one of the most famous people I can think of.” 

“Aren't you worried about what people will think?” Rachel asked hesitantly, “After all, people don’t exactly respect Kim Kardashian. Wouldn’t you rather become famous for your talent and not your body?” 

“Look, Hobbit, I know some people in this room aren’t exactly familiar with sex appeal. Most of you will have to rely on just your talent to even hope to play an extra in some community centre production of Wizard of Oz. However I am fortunate enough to be blessed with both talent and good looks which is why I'll be getting a record deal whilst you stare into the mirror at your giant schnozz and consider plucking that hideous caterpillar of a unibrow. Or I hope you’re at least thinking about it.”

“Lay off her, Santana, you’re just mad because you acted like a slut and now you have to face the consequences.” Finn said, putting a protective arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders. It was true, she had not intended on this video surfacing. She hadn’t even known he’d recorded it. She felt violated and that was on top of her regret for even doing it in the first place. She’d gone to an after-game party with Puck after the football game and a few beers later she’d somehow ended up talking with the jock, Azimio. He’d flirted with her and honestly she enjoyed the attention. Puck was always looking at every other girl in the room even though she was the hottest and he was lucky she spared him the time of day. 

“Like I care what people say.” She spat back, though this wasn’t true. She loved it when rumours got around about her and guys. Hell, she made up most of them. But for everyone to see the video it was different. She couldn’t explain what it was, but it made her feel vulnerable and gross.

“Well if you wanted a sex tape so bad why didn’t you just ask me, I'd have been down with that.” Puck chirped up, still looking cross. 

“Why do you think?” Santana held up her hand, thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. Puck folded his arms across his chest and slouched back in his chair with a grin. 

“It's bigger than that and you know it.” She did indeed have the misfortune of knowing it, before she could think of a response Finn decided to open his doughy mouth again. 

“You shouldn’t have cheated, we’re supposed to be a team.” 

“Oh please, give it up with the holier than thou attitude Lumps the Clown. Just about everyone in this room has cheated at some point or other. _You_ cheated on Quinn with Rachel, and for some reason unbeknownst to the greatest philosophers of our time, Quinn cheated on Sam with you. Even Schuester somehow found a way to get two women to look past his obsession with vests at the same time.” 

“That's enough Santana.” Mr Schuester walked in wearing a stern expression, but he couldn’t have heard much of the conversation so Santana just sashayed back to her seat with an arched eyebrow. 

Mr Schuester prattled on about today’s lesson but Santana stopped listening. She stared at her hands, fingers knotted so tightly together that they were turning red. If only Brittany had been at the party last night, then she wouldn’t have made such a stupid mistake. She glanced over a few times but Brittany wasn't looking in her direction so she couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She heard the ping of WhatsApp several times and guessed it was Puck sending the video to the guys in the room. Artie seemed very interested in his phone, the little pervert. How on earth he’d convinced Brittany to go out with him was beyond her. She literally could not fathom it. After Berry and Sad Gay sang yet another broadway song they were all dismissed and Santana was first out of the door.

Walking through the corridor she was sure she could hear the video playing over and over. She briefly considered hunting Azimio down to kick his ass but decided against it, after all he weighed about 300 lbs so if he tripped and fell on her she’d be crushed instantly. Plus it wouldn’t help with the image she was trying to cultivate to make the most of the shitty situation. She was getting her things from her locker when she felt Brittany approach. She couldn’t explain how she felt Brittany’s presence, but she just did. It was more than the swish of her high pony and the smell of her perfume, but it was like a weight was lifted from her chest just a fraction when her best friend was near. 

“Hey Brit Brit, want to come over tonight? We can pop in some Sweet Valley High and get our cuddle on?” She asked softly, smiling a little despite the day she’d had. But Brittany didn’t smile back.

“I’d love to get our sweet lady kisses on but I can’t. Artie says I'm not allowed to anymore.” 

“What, why?” Santana felt her hackles raise instantly. 

“He says it’s cheating and I don’t want to cheat on him.” Brittany looked glum and Santana felt her teeth grind at the little dweeb. 

“How can it be cheating, we’re both girls so the plumbing’s different?” 

“I told him that but he said it still counts and it makes him sad to think I'm sharing myself in any kind of way with another person.” 

“And you’re going to let that four eyed freak tell you what to do?” Santana bit back, trying not to get mad with Brittany, even though she was the one who agreed to go out with the loser. 

“He said he’ll break up with me if I see you like that. I don’t want to break up with him I like him.” Brittany replied in such an earnest way that Santana felt her blood boil. 

“Fine, date that loser, see if I care. I’ll go check if Puck wants to hang tonight.” 

“You’re still dating Puck?” Brittany asked in confusion and Santana shrugged. 

“No idea, but I’m sure I can convince him to come back. It'll probably just take the same treatment Azimio received.” Even as she said it she could feel her skin prickle. She’d never done that with a guy before and hadn’t enjoyed it the first time. But if that’s what it took to get her football jock boyfriend back and retain her position of popularity then so be it. She turned and walked away before Brittany could say anything, the look on her face was definitely disappointment now and it nearly killed her. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Brittany._

 

Brittany paused her colouring and glanced over to her extremely overweight cat who was lying on her bed eating cheese. 

“I’m not going to say it again, Lord Tubbington, I will not get involved in yet another one of your crazy Ponzi schemes. And this time i’m not going to bail you out when it goes wrong, it used up all of my allowance last time.” 

Lord Tubbington miaowed but before she could respond her buzzing phone caught her attention. It was nearly ten on a Friday night and Artie had gone to bed already so she knew who it would be. 

 

Santana: Can I come over? 

 

Brittany: Now’s not a great night, Lord Tubbington is misbehaving

 

Santana: Please? It’s important

 

Brittany: Okay, I’ll unlock the back door just text me when you’re here so I don’t try to brain you with a rolling pin like last time

 

Santana: I’m already outside the front

 

Brittany frowned and looked out her bedroom window. Sure enough she could see Santana by the front gate, dimly lit by one of the nearby street lights. She was wearing a crop top and shorts and was unsurprisingly hunched over against the cool October air, arms wrapped tightly around herself as her shoulders visibly shivered. 

Brittany dashed downstairs to let her in and was shocked to see her friend's make up was smeared across her face and the violent shivering was actually partly due to the sobbing. 

“What happened?” She exclaimed and Santana just rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug. Brittany gasped at the cold of her skin but didn’t mind, just hugged her even tighter to try warming her up. She blindly reached out and managed to grab the door to swing it shut without breaking their embrace. She wasn’t sure how long they stood like that but eventually Santana’s shoulders stopped shuddering and she squirmed out of the hug. 

“Sorry.” She sniffled and Brittany glanced down to follow her friend’s gaze to see that her pyjama top was streaked with mascara, tears and possibly snot. 

“It’s okay, come with me.” She pulled Santana by her hand up the stairs to her bedroom. “Don’t look.” She warned sternly as she changed her pyjama top, back turned to her friend. Normally she wouldn’t have bothered but now she knew how much Artie was bothered by her friendship with Santana so she had to do things differently now. She sat on her bed and patted the mattress beside her. Santana instead perched on the edge of the bed, not facing her directly. She was still shivering so Brittany plucked a sweater from the floor and handed it to Santana. “I only wore it for a few hours, its not dirty.” 

Santana pulled the sweater over her head and breathed in deeply before exhaling in a long sigh. 

“I feel so stupid.” Santana eventually said, her voice hoarse. 

“Welcome to the club.” Brittany said with a self deprecating chuckle. Santana turned to look at her sadly.

“You’re not stupid, Brit. You’re a genius. I’m the stupid one." 

Brittany felt her heart flutter as it always did. Santana was mean to a lot of people and very good at picking out the things they were most insecure about, but she never called her stupid. 

“Do you know what the capital of Ohio is? Because apparently it’s not O.” Santana shot her a small smile before fixing her stare on her hands, twisting her rings around her fingers. 

“Columbus.” 

She was quiet for a long time, clearly struggling to find a way to say what she wanted to say so Brittany tried to prompt her. 

“Is this about the video?” She asked gently and Santana’s shoulders tightened. 

“No.” She insisted before sighing. “Sort of. I don’t want to talk about that. I went over to Puck’s house to see if I could make up for what I did. And…” She trailed off, sniffling again and Brittany slid closer to her on the bed so she could rub the palm of her hand in small circles on Santana’s back. Santana always did this to her when she felt bad and it always made her feel better. “And I saw him through the window, making out with Quinn on the couch.” 

“I’m sorry.” Brittany said, though she wasn’t sure what for. It was just what people said when others were hurting. “I thought you didn’t really like Puck though. Other than him being sorta fine.” 

“It’s not really about that it’s just why _her._ ” Santana wailed, on the verge of crying again. “I’m never going to get out of her shadow. She’s so _perfect_. Perfect blonde hair, perfect nose, perfect sweet innocent girl image. The whole time we’ve dated he’s always been obsessed with her and I've never been good enough.” 

“He doesn’t deserve you.” Brittany stated matter of fact and Santana reached out to hold her hand, snaking her fingers through her own. 

“I just feel so humiliated.” 

“You should dump him first so you’re the winner.” She suggested but Santana shook her head.

“After today I don’t think we’re even together so I can’t blame him for being with Quinn. But it’s not like he hasn’t cheated on me a hundred times before. He thinks I don’t know that he sleeps with half the moms on his pool cleaning route, and there are girls at school too. But I had to mess around with one guy and now he’s justified in whatever he does.” 

Brittany wanted to point out that she’d cheated on Puck lots of times with her, they made out almost every time they hung out after school, but she knew it wouldn’t make Santana feel any better. 

“Maybe no one will know at school.” Santana said slowly, her brain clearly calculating how she could twist this in her favour. “After all, Quinn is dating Sam so she’ll probably want to keep this a secret.” 

“ _Stop it._ ” It slipped out of Brittany’s mouth without her thinking and Santana twisted to look at her in shock. “Stop messing around with guys like this. 

“What the hell, I thought you were on my side, Brit.” Santana scowled, shrugging Brittany’s hand away from her back. 

“I am.” Brittany pled, but Santana stood angrily. 

“No, you’re not, else you wouldn’t be joining the rest of the school in slut shaming me.” 

“I don’t think you’re a slut, Santana. It just hurts so much to see you mess around with these guys and get treated so badly by them in return. Puck doesn’t deserve you, Azimio doesn’t deserve to have… _that_ done to him. You’re rewarding them and you get nothing in return and it’s so frustrating to see you fall back into the same traps.” 

“I don’t get nothing in return. They buy me dinner and jewellery, I get to be one of the popular Cheerios and one day I'll marry an NFL player and be rich and famous.” 

“Is that really what you want?” Brittany bit back, starting to get mad that her friend couldn’t see how she was being exploited. Or if she could see it that she was just accepting it. 

“Yes it is. Do you have a problem with that?” 

“Yes I have a problem with that!” Brittany exclaimed, standing as well. Lord Tubbington slunk out of her bedroom so he could nap in peace. “Because the things they buy can’t make up for the fact that everyone in school thinks you’re someone that you’re not. They think you’re a bitch that messes with guy’s feelings and cheats on people and is an easy lay and soon they won't bother to treat you to nice things they will just expect you to do things for them. And I know you Santana, you will just accept that it’s what you’re worth when it’s not, you’re worth so much more!” 

“Why does it matter if I mess around with guys’ _feelings_. They’re just stupid boys!" Santana’s eyes were shiny with tears again but Brittany couldn’t stop herself. 

“If they’re just stupid boys then why do you bother with them?” She all but shouted in response. Thankfully her parents were out on a date tonight and wouldn’t be back until the morning. 

“Because I just want to _feel something_!” Santana shouted back and Brittany stopped in her tracks. “You think I don’t know that they’re assholes? I do! But every time one of them treats me well I start to think maybe it’ll be different this time. Maybe I'll like it this time. Maybe I didn’t like the other times because they just weren’t very good or we weren’t doing the right position or they had bad breath. And in the meantime if I at least get to be top bitch at school or pick out a new pair of earrings then at least it’s something.” Santana was sobbing by this point. “But it’s not what I want!”

“What do you want?” Brittany asked quietly, and there was a long pause whilst Santana tried to choke down enough air to reply. Eventually she controlled her sobbing and whispered to a spot three feet beside Brittany. 

“I want to feel what I feel when I’m with you.” 

Brittany was dumbstruck so she said nothing and it was quiet between them other than the sound of loud sniffing. Santana turned to look at her finally, her eyes filled with an anguish that physically hurt Brittany’s chest. 

“Say something, please…” Santana whispered, breathing quietly now. 

“What do you feel when you’re with me?” Brittany asked, wanting to be one hundred percent sure about what was happening. 

“This.” She stumbled forward and crashed her lips against Brittany’s. She reacted instinctively, opening her mouth to meet Santana’s urgent kissing. This wasn’t like before when they normally made out. They were sweet and soft kisses, she could usually taste Santana’s lip gloss or the ice cream they’d been eating. Now she could taste the salt from Satana’s tears and could feel the emotion surging through her. It wasn’t worse than the sweet lady kisses, it was just different. Santana cupped her hands on her cheeks desperately deepening the kiss even more. She pressed her body against Brittany’s and slid her leg between her own, the bare skin of their legs gliding smoothly together. 

It took every ounce of control Brittany had to break away from the kiss and they both stood, inches apart as they panted. Santana’s face quickly clouded over with confusion. 

“What?” 

“I… I can’t.” Brittany gasped, stumbling backwards to regain some space between them. 

“What do you mean? Did you not feel it too?” Her face turned briefly to hurt before she raised her usual shield of anger that she normally reserved for people that weren’t Brittany. 

“No, I felt it.” Brittany felt her heart exploding with all the emotion that currently flowed through her. “But I’m with Artie.” 

“Artie?” Santana spat angrily. “What does he have to do with it?”

“I feel things with Artie too, I can’t break up with him it would hurt his feelings.” She did feel things with Artie, but nothing like what she’d just felt. That didn’t change the fact that they were dating though. 

“Who cares about his feelings?” Santana exclaimed, backing away from Brittany with a look of disgust. 

“I do. You can’t tell him about this, please!” Brittany begged, suddenly worried. This was exactly the kind of thing Santana would do to other people, she was extremely honest about other people cheating and always made sure to tell people. One time she even contracted Mono to prove Finn and Quinn were cheating. But Santana just stormed out of her room without replying and a few moments later the front door slammed. Through the window she could see Santana running around from the house into the cold night.

 


	3. Chapter 3

_Santana._

 

Santana entered the choir room with significantly less muster than usual. Part of this was due to the fact that it was before nine on a Monday morning, but mostly she just felt like crap. Schuester had called an emergency Glee meeting when they were supposed to be in morning homeroom registration so although it was unexpected, almost everyone was there already. Brittany wasn’t yet but she was often late on days that Santana didn’t take her to school because of her tendency to follow squirrels across the park or get lost. 

The only two seats empty were either side of Artie so she dropped into one with a heavy sigh, massaging her temples. She’d woken with a headache, probably dehydration from all the damn crying she’d done. If she’d felt stupid on Friday she sure as shit felt downright idiotic now. Next to her Tina turned in her seat and looked like she was about to start a conversation so Santana quickly pulled out her phone and started flicking through it idly to dispel any notion that she was approachable. She glanced at the seven unanswered texts from Brittany that had accumulated over the weekend. 

 

Brittany: Are you okay?

 

Brittany: I think we should talk about last night

 

Brittany: If Lord Tubbington tells you he has an offer that you can’t resist call the police!

 

Brittany: Are you going to tell Artie on me? 

 

Brittany: Wow look at this giant chicken have you ever seen a chicken this big? 

 

Brittany: Apparently they’re called Swans and they’re not nice!!!

 

Brittany: I just wanted to let you know that I'm not mad at you and I'll see you at school :) 

 

Mr Schuester walked in at that moment and was about to start when Quinn said she had to go to the bathroom quickly. _Maybe she’s pregnant again_ , Santana thought glaring at Quinn as she left the room. She was just pondering the possibility when Brittany walked in looking anxious. She hesitated when she noticed Santana sat next to Artie but Artie smiled and waved so a look of relief crossed her face. 

Santana had thought about how she could manipulate the situation to get Artie to break up with Brittany so they could be together, but in the end she couldn’t go through with it. After all Brittany didn’t deserve to be punished for her actions. Brittany said hi to Artie and kissed his cheek before turning to Santana. 

“Hey, could we talk for a sec?" 

“No.” Santana simply answered, drawing a curious look from Artie. Brittany dithered, not sure how to proceed before she continued. 

“But it's important, it’s about Friday about-“ Santana cut her off by dragging her by the hand across the room.

“Don’t say a word about Friday.” She hissed quietly, terrified somebody would overhear and learn her secret. Brittany glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the glee club, several of whom were clearly watching the exchange. 

“Look, _nothing happened_. Do you understand?” She insisted but Brittany just looked confused. 

“No, not really. Because something did happen between us.” She whispered and Santana shook her head vehemently. 

“No, it didn’t. I was drunk and upset and I made a mistake. I didn’t mean what I said, so it might as well be nothing that happened. I haven’t said anything to Artie so don’t worry about him breaking up with you, you can keep your useless boyfriend.” She spat, regretting the sad frown that Brittany wore because of her. She sighed and continued softly. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I just really don’t want anyone to know about Friday okay?”

“Okay.” Brittany agreed and they linked pinky fingers for the short walk back to their seats. Artie was frowning between the two on them so to make things seem normal Santana gave him her usual venomous glare. At that point Quinn returned and Mr Schue took his favourite teaching stance at the front of the class. 

“Okay guys, I know we don’t have much time so I'm going to make this quick. I’m incredibly disappointed in the amount of bickering that’s been going on in here lately. You guys are a team- no, you’re more than that, you’re a family.”

“Gross.” Santana muttered, earning her a disapproving glance from Schuester. 

“I know you don’t want to hear it but it’s true. And families bicker, it’s normal, but I haven’t seen you this bad since we nearly lost regionals last year. I’m not going to let that endanger our chances again, so I've thought of a special lesson this week.”

Several of the group groaned audibly. Mr Schue's special lessons usually meant hell for them, like the wheelchair week. He opened the cardboard box on the piano and held up a pair of handcuffs.

“ _Wanky_.” Santana purred, earning a few giggles from the group and one horrified gasp from Rachel. 

“Santana.” Schuester frowned at her before continuing. “This week, every day from 9am to 9pm, you will spend twelve hours handcuffed to someone else in this group. And no Rachel, you don’t get to choose who you’re handcuffed to it’ll be random.” He added as Rachel grinned happily at Finn. He took a piece of chalk and began writing as he spoke. “Ground rules: number one, you must take them off when one of you needs the bathroom, I don’t want to hear of anyone using a bathroom of the gender they don’t identify with. You can’t force your partner to accompany you anywhere they feel uncomfortable. This also applies to locker rooms. Number two, you must attend one of the pair’s classes, and you must catch up on every piece of work and homework that you miss. I’ve cleared it with the teachers that there may be some rearrangement and you have until the end of next week to hand in any work that you miss because of it. And number three, don’t kill each other.” 

The room looked on with horrified faces as he began pulling names from a hat to match people up. 

Rachel - Quinn

Sam - Finn

Mercedes - Mike 

Tina - Kurt 

Blaine - Zizes

Artie - Puck 

“So that just leaves… Santana and Brittany.” Schuester called out, faltering slightly. Santana felt her heart flutter with the rush of conflicting emotions and Brittany grinned across at her. 

“Well that’s hardly fair, they spent every day practically joined at the pinkie.” Rachel pouted and Kurt nodded along.

“I agree, and let’s be real it’s Santana that needs this lesson more than any of us.” Artie pointed out, clearly unhappy at the thought of them together all week. 

“And since you made that excellent point Artie, you can go with Santana and Brittany with Puck.” Mr Schuester smiled pleasantly, switching their names on the board before handing out the cuffs and keys. “You can decide between you who looks after the key and which hands you handcuff, I’ll see you in here after school for glee club.” 

With that he left, and Santana stared at Artie in horror, the full realisation of the week she was in for starting to dawn on her. 

“So… which hand do you want to do?" Artie asked awkwardly and without replying she thrust out her right hand. Luckily she was left handed so they’d both be able to cuff their non dominant hands. 

“I’m going to need my right hand.” Puck said to Brittany, unnecessarily adding a wink to make it seem dirtier. 

“Gross.” Brittany grimaced. “Well I need my right hand too, I can’t write with my left.” 

“Like that’ll even affect you, I've seen the tests you hand in they’re always just coloured in with crayon.” Puck snorted back and Santana glared at him.

“Oh please, all you want to do with your right hand is jerk off and let me tell you if you even think about doing that whilst cuffed to Brittany she’ll sue you for sexual harassment.” 

“Whatever.” Puck rolled his eyes. “So you want to hang out tonight Santana, sorry I couldn’t meet you on Friday I got caught up with something.” 

Santana glanced across at Quinn to see that she was clearly acting like she wasn’t listening, so naturally she smiled. 

“Sounds good, your place?” 

“Deal. Tonight is going to be awesome, two sexy ladies in my bedroom.” He winked at them both and Santana belatedly remembered that Brittany was now handcuffed to Puck. 

“Um, and me.” Artie pointed out and Puck’s bravado wavered slightly. “I need to get to class.” 

Artie automatically reached both of his hands out to push his wheels forward and the movement nearly yanked Santana over which made everyone laugh. 

“You know with four eyes you’d think you’d have a little more foresight.” Santana grumbled, massaging her wrist where the cuff was. 

“Sorry.” 

“Anyway what about my class?” 

“I think you’ll be okay to miss one Spanish class.” Artie pointed out and Santana shrugged, it was true she didn’t need the Spanish class, but it was where she cultivated her most withering stares with the help of Schuester’s offensive teaching style. Artie reached out, more carefully this time, to grasp his wheels but the movement needed still pulled Santana’s hand too low down so that she would need to either stoop or bend to keep her arm in it’s socket. 

“I don’t know how this is going to work.” Artie mumbled awkwardly and Santana huffed a huge sigh.

“Well I guess I'll have to push your chair.” She repositioned herself so that she could stand behind Artie with his hand twisted over his shoulder to hang by her wrist. It definitely didn’t look comfortable for Artie but at least they could walk without falling over and also more importantly she didn’t care. 

“Later, Brit.” She called over her shoulder as they left the choir room and headed to Artie’s home economic class. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

_Brittany._

 

“I will pay someone a thousand bucks to end this week already.” Santana fumed as she descended the wheelchair ramp awkwardly with Artie. “Or to just kidnap me for the next 96 hours.” 

Brittany giggled, following much more easily behind them with Puck. She swung her left hand lightly as she walked, forcing Puck to swing his right arm. 

“So, you wanna head straight to mine?” Puck asked Santana. 

“Sure, do you have your car?” 

“Yeah, it’s this way.” He started to walk in a different direction but Artie piped up.

“Hold up, I didn’t think you were actually serious about that.” 

“Why not?” Puck asked with a shrug.

“Well, can I get my chair into your house?” It was clear Artie didn’t really want to go.

“Probably.” He replied nonchalantly. “If not then Brittany and I will just carry your chair over any obstacles, you weigh like 90 lbs." 

“It’s true.” Brittany added. “He’s like a baby bird it’s so cute. Plus I’m really strong from helping Lord Tubbington with his yoga.” Artie seemed unconvinced. “Come on it’ll be fun. Santana can hang out with Puck and I can hang out with you!” 

“Okay then. But I'm not sure if I can get into Puck’s car with the handcuff on…” 

“We'll take the cuff off just for a minute. I’m sure Mr Schue will be okay with it for the sake of safety.” 

Once Artie and Santana got into the back of Puck’s car Brittany and Puck clambered into the front, Brittany climbing into the drivers side and then over the gearstick to get to the passenger seat. 

“Shouldn’t you take off the cuffs to drive really?” Artie asked sceptically.

“Nah dude this is fine, look.” Puck gestured how with his right hand he could easily control the gears, and if Brittany leaned over a bit he could also get his hand on the steering wheel. Brittany giggled, feeling like a puppet as her hand was yanked around to suit Puck’s driving. 

“Just wear your seatbelt, Brit.” Santana warned as she put her own on. She’d decided to leave her handcuff off until Artie had got back out of the car to save the hassle. 

It was only a short drive back to Puck's house and they only had to help Artie get over the front stoop in his chair. Once inside they surveyed the living room’s furniture, trying to work out how they could seat themselves. Santana dropped onto the sofa next to Archie’s wheelchair, pulling Brittany down to sit beside her and ignoring Puck who had to perch on the arm. 

“Today was so shitty I have no idea how I’ll survive four more!” Santana exclaimed, twisting as best as she could with her arm behind her back so that she could face Brittany who did the same. “Look, I still have flour on my Cheerios uniform from first period.”

“What happened?” 

“Well I was helping that dweeb make his damn soufflé when he sneezed- with unnecessary force might I add- and it made me drop the bowl of flour!” 

“Awww poor you.” Brittany agreed sympathetically, brushing at Santana’s front with her free hand to try and get rid of the persistent flour remainders. She realised what she was doing when she glanced up and saw the way Santana was looking at her, dark eyes and lips slightly parted. She quickly stopped and glanced at Artie who was watching them with a frown. Santana seemed to snap back into the room and cleared her throat roughly. 

“So how was it for you?” 

“It was annoying but not too bad. The worst part is that Puck scratches his junk like, a lot.”

“Hey can you stop talking about us like we’re not here?” Puck piped up, leaning around Brittany so he could look at Santana. “I thought you wanted to hang with _me_ anyway.” 

Santana huffed and stood up, gesturing for Puck to move into her seat. Once he’d climbed over Brittany she climbed onto his lap and started making out. 

“Oh wow.” Artie commented awkwardly, being two feet from the couple making out and basically grinding on the sofa. He managed to shuffle his chair closer so that he was sat in front of Brittany. 

“So um, what do you want to do?” He asked and Brittany wasn’t sure. She felt sad seeing her friend making out with Puck and she tried to think of things she usually did when she was sad. But she could only think of things that she normally did with Santana. She copied her friend by sitting in Artie’s lap to kiss her boyfriend. With the way that Puck was cupping Santana’s breast with his right hand it meant that Brittany’s arm was basically stretched across Santana’s back, her hand dangling limply below his. She stroked her fingers ever so slightly against Santana’s ribs, and though she could only feel cheap polyester she felt her ribs quiver slightly and was sure that it was not because of Puck’s hands on her breasts. 

“I’m sorry, this is too weird.” Artie broke off after a couple of minutes of kissing. It took a moment for Brittany to realise what he meant, she had been thinking of Santana which she now felt guilty about. Her fingers still rested lightly on Santana’s waist. “Santana I want to go home.”

“Well too bad, I don’t want to go to your house.” Santana broke apart from Puck long enough to respond. 

“Well can we go somewhere else or at least watch a movie or something?” 

“You can go wherever you want, I wants to get my mack on.” Santana kissed Puck again but Brittany was sure that she was leaning into her hand slightly, and she tickled her fingers discreetly. 

“We have to be handcuffed for another three hours though.” 

“Jesus Artie, just let it go. Schuester isn’t going to know if we uncuff.” Santana snapped, clearly getting annoyed at the distractions. 

“But it’s cheating.” 

“Okay, tell you what. We’ll uncuff for like, twenty minutes, then we can go home okay?” She replied irritably, digging the handcuff key out of her bra. She unlocked the handcuff on her wrist and looked expectantly at Puck who was looking after the key to his and Brittany’s handcuff. 

“Wait but Artie said it’s cheating.” Brittany said slowly.

“Artie says a lot of things are cheating.” Santana replied with an eye-roll. Brittany knew why they wanted to be alone, but she didn’t want them to do that. She couldn’t say no to the look in Santana’s eyes though, so she resignedly agreed to take off her handcuff. They started to walk up the stairs to go to Puck’s bedroom when he jogged back and picked up one of the sets of handcuffs.

“Might as well get some good use outta these.” He winked and ran back to where Santana was on the stairs, slapping her ass as she laughed her fake high-pitched giggle that she used with guys. Brittany turned the tv on instead and found a Woody Woodpecker cartoon to put on, sitting on Artie’s lap with his arms around her waist. 

When the pair came back downstairs not too long after Puck looked happy but Santana’s smile seemed forced. She claimed that she had to get on with some homework and offered to go back to Artie’s house to work on it. She gave Brittany a quick hug before chaining herself back to Artie whilst they waited for his mom to pick them both up. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

_Santana._

 

Tuesday was just as bad, if not worse than Monday. Santana and Artie argued furiously first thing over whose class they got to attend. Artie argued his history class was more important than Santana’s hour fawning over the Biology teacher and making innuendos, which Santana merely rolled her eyes at. They agreed in the end to just alternate classes, so they started with history. Santana found this extremely boring, not only because it was history class but because she’d done this exact same lesson the year before. 

They’d also become better at navigating with the wheelchair, however they were already fed up with each other’s company. They’d tried talking a bit the night before when they were at Artie’s house to try and make the most of the situation, but it wasn’t long before Santana told him to shut up because he was boring her and instead they worked in silence. Everything Artie did or said annoyed Santana, but she knew this had a lot to with the fact that he was dating Brittany and she was so twisted up inside with all the conflicting emotions she felt. 

At lunch Puck yanked his arm as Brittany was licking her ice cream cone to get her to dab ice cream all over her face. Unfortunately he overestimated it and the chocolate scoop fell off the top of the cone onto the cafeteria floor. Fortunately by this point they were all getting more aware of their physical bonds so Santana restrained herself from going all Lima Heights on Puck’s ass before she pulled Artie out of his chair. Instead she gave Brittany her pudding cup to cheer her up, though it was still awkward between them. 

Santana felt like Brittany was judging her after the previous night at Puck’s. So she didn’t try to seek out her friend like she normally did and spent most of the day avoiding her and hoping she wouldn’t come to speak to Artie. When they were together she acted very interested in her phone, and Artie apparently noticed something between them, because after Puck and Brittany left to go to class he stopped them both in the corridor with his brakes. 

“What now?” Santana sighed irritably. 

“What’s going on with you and Brittany?” 

“Nothing, lets get moving, we’re going to be late.” She grumbled back, waiting for Artie to remove the breaks, but he just twisted around to look at her with a frown.

“That doesn’t sound like nothing, it sounds like something, which is almost always more than nothing.” 

“Calm down, we’re just friends.” Santana replied, wanting the conversation to end. She knew he knew about their make out sessions but she didn’t want anyone else to overhear. 

“Friends that “make out with their tongues super close”, I know.” He punctuated the air with finger quotes, clearly getting angry. “I’ve already told Brittany that she’s not allowed to do that anymore.” 

Santana narrowed her eyes, her patience suddenly wearing very thin. 

“Then you should trust your girlfriend when she says she won't do it anymore. But maybe my problem with Brittany is that she’s letting a loser who gets his hair cut by his own mom order her around like she’s his property.” 

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Artie said hastily, looking contrite. “I just, I can’t stand the idea that I'm not fulfilling her romantically.” 

“Then that’s your problem, I can’t help it if you have a fragile male ego.” Santana snapped, before glancing around to see there was no one in earshot. “Look you don’t need to worry about it, I’m not gay.” 

“Then why do you make out with Brittany?” 

“I don’t know, I get bored.” She shrugged. “I’m like a lizard, I need something warm beneath me to digest my food. But Brittany already told me that she doesn’t want to do it anymore so I respect that and I’ll just have to spend more time at Puck’s place I guess.”

Artie didn’t say anything but he did take the breaks off and let her push him to class. 

 

They were on their way to glee club when Artie announced that he had to pee again. Santana was so glad that they were allowed to take off the handcuff for toilet breaks, there was no way she could go without peeing for twelve hours, and she also could not do it if he was in the stall with her. Plus the wheelchair wouldn’t have fit. She was waiting outside the disabled bathroom when Brittany strolled up with Puck. 

“I need to pee, you coming Santana?” Brittany asked, gesturing to Puck to unlock her handcuff. Santana did not need to pee, nor did she want to talk to Brittany privately which was clearly what her friend wanted. But she knew protesting would look suspicious so she followed her into the girls’ toilets. The toilets were empty but Brittany checked every door just to be sure. 

“What was last night about?” She asked, and Santana tried to look nonchalant. 

“I was in the mood.” That was somewhat true. She had been in the mood when she’d been making out on Puck’s couch, aware of Brittany’s fingers tickling her side. She’d thought maybe it would give her the boost to get her going properly, like some kind of lesbian fluffer. 

“You didn’t look happy afterwards.” Brittany frowned. For a girl with no common sense she sure could be switched on when she needed to be. 

“Handcuffs just aren’t my thing. Plus it meant I had to do all the work whilst Puck just laid there.” She snorted.

‘If you don’t enjoy the sex then maybe you should stop having sex with Puck.” Brittany lectured and Santana laughed, somewhat cruelly. 

“Well at least he wants me, unlike you.” She retorted and Brittany’s face fell instantly.

“I do want you, honey. I just, I can’t break up with Artie.” 

“ _Yes, you can_.” Santana insisted. “You know it’s also not nice to keep someone hanging on in a relationship if you like someone else.” She could see Brittany was considering it, so she softened her tone and added. “Your happiness is just as important as Artie’s.” 

“What about you? You date people when you like someone else.” Brittany pointed out defensively.

“Well I'm not a nice person.” She muttered with a scowl, and Brittany took a step closer and took her hand gently in her own. 

“ _Yes, you are._ ” She murmured. “You’re the one who rubs my back when I'm sad, who gives me your pudding when jerks ruin mine. You drove me to the police station to bail our Lord Tubbington and bought me sweets when I had no money left from the bail. You protect me when others are trying to bully me by insulting my ideas or calling me dumb. You’re the kindest person I know.” 

“Well it’s different with you.” Santana muttered, feeling the heat rise in her face. 

“Why?” 

“Because I’m in-“ She stopped abruptly as the door to the bathroom swung open and Rachel flounced in. “Because you’re less annoying than most people.” She finished lamely.

“You can’t hide in here if you’re not using the bathroom.” Rachel lectured them obnoxiously.

“Whatever, don’t you have to take Finn to some back alley liposuction appointment or something?” Santana muttered as she swept past Rachel and started handcuffing herself back with Artie. 

“Hey Artie.” Brittany followed her out and greeted Artie with a chaste peck before turning to Puck to sort out her own handcuff. 

“Hey babe.” 

“Do you want to hang out later tonight?” She asked him as she fiddled with the cuff. 

“Um, not tonight. It was a bit crowded last night.” He replied, glancing at Santana. 

“Like I want to hang out with you either.” Santana interjected tartly. “Come on, Schuester will be waiting for us.” 

Santana wasn’t even enjoying glee club as much this week. It was partly due to the stupid smug expression Schuester wore. He thought he was so brilliant for coming up with this idea. But mostly it was because Santana couldn’t dance with Brittany. She just had to sit there and watch as Brittany danced with Puck, his bumbling steps barely keeping up with hers. She sat there fuming, and even declined the opportunity to sing when offered which drew several amazed stares from the others before Tina grabbed the opportunity. After glee club she just went back to Artie’s house again to do homework. She was becoming very studious this week out of sheer boredom. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Realised I messed up with the sequence of chapter POV but oh well, this one is Santana's again.

_Santana._

 

“I have never been more happy for it to be Friday.” Santana exclaimed excitedly as she slapped the handcuff on her wrist for the final day of the torturous week. “But if somebody starts singing Rebecca Black or Katy Perry again I will hit a bitch.” She added, giving Blaine a warning glare. He raised his hands innocently.

“No promises, Santana. By the way we’ve organised to have a party tonight at mine to celebrate taking off the cuffs. My parents have said we can camp in the garden, you in?” 

“Hmmm, I'll think about it.” She grumbled, not wanting to sound keen. 

“Well, Artie wants to go so you at least have to turn up for the first hour." Blaine admonished.

“Well then why did you even ask if I wanted to go?” She huffed. “Sure, I’ll be there.” 

“Great. See you at eight.” He started walking away and Santana called out after him.

“Make sure there’s plenty of booze.” 

 

“Damn it.” Santana hissed as she accidentally smeared mascara on her cheek for the second time. “Can you please just give me some slack please?” She said angrily, referring to Artie’s wrist, still handcuffed to hers as she reapplied her make up in front of the mirror at his house. His arm was stretched up to hers and it kept pulling her hand as she tried to delicately apply the eye make up. She wasn’t even going to bother with eyeliner. 

“I’m trying.” Artie said defensively. “Can you hurry up, we’re going to be late.” 

It was nearly eight already, they’d been delayed because Santana had had to go back to her house to pick up some other clothes and make up. She’d agreed to get ready at Artie’s because he wouldn’t be able to see out of the mirror at her house to do his hair. She just hoped his shower wasn’t bugged with some kind of web cam. 

“Whatever, no one will be there till at least half eight anyway. Nobody actually goes to a party when it’s due to start.” 

“I do.”

“Sorry, nobody cool goes to a party when it’s due to start is what I should’ve said.” 

“Roll on nine o clock.” Artie muttered and Santana just pretended not to hear. 

By the time they got to the party it was nearly half past, but they weren’t the last to arrive, Mercedes and Mike weren’t there yet. Everyone was in the garden, which was huge. Although it was a fairly mild night it was still October so Blaine had some burners going for more warmth. 

“Hey Artie, Santana, want to play Irish Snap?" Blaine asked. “It’s like regular snap but the idea is to get rid of all your cards and the last person to snap has to take the pile and also drink. We’re playing in handcuff pairs.” 

“Snap!”

“Snap!”

“Snap”

“Snap-owowowow” Tina yelped, as Kurt yanked her hand towards the central pile of cards. “Maybe this isn’t the best idea.” She muttered, massaging her wrist. 

“Well if you were paying attention I wouldn’t have to pull your hand so much.” Kurt chided gently, but he did give her wrist a soothing rub. “Blaine has some ice in the freezer let’s go get it.” 

“Don’t forget to drink first.” Puck chuckled, pushing the pile of cards towards them. 

They played a little while longer but once Mike and Mercedes arrived there were too many of them involved for it to be feasible so they switched to some other drinking games. They were so caught up in their games that they actually missed the nine o clock mark and it was nearly twenty past when Santana realised. By this point everyone was feeling pleasantly buzzed, not just from the alcohol but also the anticipation. 

“Guys we did it.” Blaine said, smiling proudly at the group. 

“Thank god, I'm getting blue balls I swear.” Puck muttered. 

“Oh please, it's been like three days since you got laid.” Santana muttered, rolling her eyes. 

“Hang on, three days?” Rachel perked up and Santana kicked herself mentally. “So you hooked up this week?” 

“Hell yeah I did.” Puck smirked at Santana. 

“You took the handcuffs off?” 

“At least one of us was wearing handcuffs still if you catch my drift.” Puck winked sleazily and stared twelve pairs of eyes swivelled to stare at Santana as if she’d been the one handcuffed. 

“Gross." Rachel groaned. 

“Whatever, let’s do this.” Santana muttered, digging in her pockets to get their key. The rest of the group did the same and began freeing themselves one by one. 

“What are you waiting for?” Puck asked Brittany, who looked at him in confusion. 

“I thought you had the key.” 

“No, I gave it to you.”

“Did not.” 

“Did too.” 

A few chuckles rippled around the circle. Both Brittany and Puck searched all of their things for the key. 

“Puck this isn’t funny, you were looking after the key all week.” Santana said, eyes narrowed shrewdly. 

“I swear I'm not lying, I gave it to Brittany at her place when I went to get changed.” 

“Oh no.” Brittany wailed. “I gave it to Lord Tubbington to look after so I wouldn’t lose it.” 

“Blaine do you have some tools or something we can use?” Puck asked and they went to the garage to see if they could do something. Santana followed them to make sure they didn’t hurt themselves. They couldn’t find any bolt cutters, the pliers they had weren’t strong enough and the hacksaw wasn’t cutting through the flimsy metal chain. 

“Let’s just go back to yours and get the key.” Puck finally suggested, giving up. 

“We can’t. I don’t have my key and my parents won't be back until tomorrow morning.” Brittany replied glumly. 

“Well. Let’s just get wasted instead then.” 

A couple of hours later most of the group were drunk. Artie wasn’t drinking and Quinn was taking it easy on the alcohol too, as was Mike. They were dancing to Blaine’s predictable mix of pop songs and having a good time. Puck started grinding on Brittany which Santana quickly spotted. 

“Hey hey hey. No me gusta!” She hissed, dragging Brittany as far apart from Puck as their handcuff would allow.

“Don’t worry Santana, you’ll have plenty of time with Puck.” Quinn jibed but Santana shot her a glare.

“You can shut up.” 

"Did you learn nothing from this week Santana?” Rachel scolded, giggling into her drink. 

“I don’t think she did.” Kurt replied smugly, before slapping one of the discarded handcuffs onto Santana’s wrist and the other end onto Puck’s wrist before either of them could process what was happening. 

“What the…” Santana hissed, her alcohol soaked brain trying to process what had happened. “Oh Lady Lips, I am going to kill you.” 

“You have to catch me first!” He giggled, and danced out of reach of her wildly swiping arm. She uttered a string of swear words, slipping between English and Spanish. 

“My middle name isn't Diabla for nothing. Puck, Brit, help me catch him.” They tried to run after him but were far less coordinated and so he evaded them easily. Kurt ran onto the decking by the back door but he stumbled, throwing his arms out as he did so to steady himself. The music was loud but they all heard the rattle of the key hitting the decking. 

“Oh no.” Kurt whispered, stopping still. Everyone rushed over to see why he had frozen on the spot. The key wasn’t on the decking. “It fell through the gap. I am _so_ sorry Santana.” 

“Best start digging your grave now, Teen Gay.” Santana could barely contain her anger. Brittany held her hand to help her calm down. Or maybe to stop her from throttling Kurt. 

“Go get that hacksaw.” Puck told Blaine, who shook his head vehemently. 

“No way. I am not letting you cut through my parents’ decking they’ll never let me have another party again.”

“Well we can't stay handcuffed together all weekend!” Santana spluttered. 

“Look, my dad will be back in the morning, he’ll know where the bolt cutters are and they’ll break through the chain easily until you can get the spare key from Schuester on Monday. 

“Christ, I need more wine.” Santana muttered, dragging Puck and Brittany to fetch a fresh bottle of wine which she drank straight from. 

“Come on, let’s dance!” Brittany cajoled until Santana couldn’t help herself from smiling.

“Okay okay, but please can we have some better music Blaine?” 

Mercedes agreed and they put on a playlist with more RNB/Hip Hop. 

“Now this is more like it.” Santana grinned as she started dancing against Puck. Because of the cuffs they had to dance pretty close together like a sandwich, with Puck and Brittany either side of Santana. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of bodies pressed against her own as they danced together, before being startled by Brittany pulling away. She pulled them over to Artie who was looking upset. To cheer him up, and also because Brittany always turned into a stripper when she drank too much, she started giving him a lap dance. But she was looking at Santana whilst she did it. 

“I need to take a slash.” Puck interrupted. 

“No way.” Santana replied hastily. 

“Would you rather I pissed myself?” He arched an eyebrow and the girls sighed in resignation. 

“No… and I need to go too.” Brittany said. They went upstairs to one of the proper bathrooms as it would’ve been too tight to squeeze into the downstairs toilet. They crowded around the toilet and then both Santana and Brittany tried to turn away from him, hands shielding the side of their face so they couldn’t see. 

“Uh… it’s not going to work like this, I need to use my hands.” Puck pointed out, his hands both up by each girl’s wrists. 

“This is so gross.” Brittany whispered, her hand tightly balled up next to Puck’s junk and eyes squeezed shut. He finished and then rinsed his hands under the tap.

“Uh uh… soap!” Santana spluttered. 

“What, my hands didn’t even get dirty.” Puck argued defensively. 

“Oh my god… do you never wash your hands with soap?” She asked incredulously and he shrugged.

“Sure, when I take a dump.” 

“Oh god. Just please wash them with soap now.” 

Once he’d washed his hands properly Brittany went next. She had one hand free which was a bit easier, but once she was sat on the toilet she couldn’t go. 

“I can’t go if you’re listening.” She mumbled, so Santana turned the taps on full blast and started singing along to the Ciara song they could vaguely hear from outside to cover up the sound of her peeing. 

“I might as well go too whilst we’re up here.” Santana grumbled. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

_Brittany._

 

“Psst.” Brittany whispered with a small giggle. The party was over and everyone had squeezed into their respective tents. She was sure that if she could see, the room would be spinning, but it was too dark so she could only just make out the outline of Santana lying next to her. 

“What?” Santana whispered back, and Brittany could just barely see her eyes flutter open. 

“Do you think this is how sardines feel when they’re in tins?” She asked and Santana chuckled. 

“Probably.”

They were squeezed into a two man tent, with Artie sleeping by the door, then Brittany was next to him, her left arm stretched above her head as it was still joined to Puck’s right wrist. He was on the end and Santana was curled up between him and Brittany. 

“I love camping.” Brittany said and she saw Santana wrinkle her nose. 

“I don’t. I swear I'm lying on a rock or something it's digging into my hip.” She grumbled. 

“Move this way a bit.” Brittany replied, shuffling her body as carefully as she could away from Puck without disturbing him too much. Her friend did the same, but to get off the rock she had to move further than Brittany did, so they ended up practically nose to nose. “Your breath smells like cough syrup.” 

“Berry does not know how to make a cocktail.” Santana answered with a grin despite herself. She wiggled the tiniest bit closer so that her forehead rested against Brittany’s. She shifted so that her free hand could flick a lock of blonde hair from Brittany’s face. “Hi.” 

“Hi.” 

It was quiet between them for several long heartbeats before Santana closed the distance between them with a soft kiss. Brittany broke it off, but didn’t move apart.

“Santana…” 

“I know." Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she heard the disappointment and guilt mixed in Santana’s voice. 

“Listen, I’ve thought a lot about what you said to me the other day. In the bathroom. And I’m going to do what you told me to do.” 

“I didn’t tell you to do anything.” Santana murmured sadly. “I just want you to be happy.” 

“I know that.” And she did. It was the one thing in her life that she was not confused about. She closed her eyes and thought about what made her happy. The image that appeared was the two of them alone in the tent. No Artie, no Puck, no handcuffs. Just Santana stretched out beneath her, dark hair fanning out from her face and eyes full of desire. Brittany pictured herself straddling the other girl, leaning forward to kiss her, slowly at first and then faster like they’d kissed last Friday. Her hands would slide up Santana’s shirt to feel the soft warm skin squirm beneath her fingers as she’d trace delicate circles. Her hips would rock slightly as the heat built and-

Brittany’s eye’s snapped open and she twisted to check on Artie guiltily. He seemed to be sleeping still, or he at least wasn’t wearing his glasses. She felt her cheeks burning.  It wasn’t that she didn’t think of Artie that way, she could if she concentrated and if Santana wasn’t there, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t just the alcohol making her horny either. The second thing that came to mind when she thought of happiness was just curling up with Santana no matter if they were lying on the ground in a tent or back at her place on the sofa watching tv. Or walking down the corridor at school with their pinkies linked, or singing and dancing together in Glee club making everyone else jealous of how perfectly they were matched. 

‘You make me happy.” She whispered finally. Even though there was only the faintest glimmer of light piercing through the tent fabric from the garden lanterns she saw Santana’s face brighten, a smile stretching to her ears. 

“And I'm never going to stop doing just that.” 

“I’m going to break up with Artie.” Brittany whispered, feeling bad about it already. “I just need to wait until I'm not attached to Puck anymore because it would be mean to do it in front of other people.” 

“I can wait.” Santana purred, feeling for Brittany’s hand in the darkness. She linked their fingers and gently stroked the palm of Brittany’s hand with her thumb. She quickly pecked a soft kiss to the tip of the blonde’s nose. “Now we really ought to get some sleep.” 

They fell asleep curled against each other, and woke the same way a few short hours later at sunrise. The birds were already up and singing, and the unzipping of tent doors filled the air. Brittany wriggled away from Santana and turned as best as she could with the handcuff restraint so that she faced away from her to continue snoozing whilst some of the other partygoers began to stir. She managed to snooze another hour or so until the commotion became too loud to ignore. Finn had helped Artie into his chair and managed to get him back out of the tent before Brittany even summoned the energy to sit upright, waking Puck as she did so. 

“What time is it?” Puck grumbled, trying to lay back down but Brittany shook his arm to wake him up more. 

“Time to get up.” She replied, and Santana began to stir as well. They’d all slept in last night’s clothes because the cuffs made getting changed basically impossible. Brittany could see a stain on Santana’s shirt which she vaguely remembered was from the tequila body shots they’d done together. 

“Urghhhh…” Santana placed a hand on her stomach as she sat up as well, looking grey. “I do not feel great, what did I drink last night?” 

“Everything.” Puck muttered, massaging his temples. They slowly got up and traded the nice dim tent for bright stabbing sunlight as they made their way towards the house. 

“Hey guys, my dad’s just getting the bolt cutters he’ll be round in a sec.” Blaine called cheerily from the back door. Santana waved vaguely in acknowledgement, digging through her purse for her sunglasses. Whilst they were waiting Artie wheeled over to the trio. 

“My mom’s here to pick me up, I'll see you on Monday.” He sounded weird and Brittany felt an unpleasant flutter in her stomach that she couldn’t identify.

“You wanna hang out later?” She asked hopefully, but he shook his head. “Oh. Well I kind of need to talk to you about something, maybe tomorrow?”

“I don’t think we should hang out anymore, Brittany.” He said sadly, glancing at Santana. Brittany blinked, he had to know about them, about what she’d said last night. 

“What are you saying?” She tried to stop her lip from quivering as she spoke. She wasn’t sad that they were breaking up, she was just sad that clearly she had not been a good enough girlfriend. 

“I’m saying that I want to break up with you.” 

“Yikes.” Puck said, looking amused. 

“Stay out of this, Puck.” Artie retorted, an edge to his voice. Brittany blinked furiously as her vision blurred, a lump forming in her throat. 

“Well if you wanted Puck to stay out of it then you should’ve had the decency to wait until you were alone to do this, that was pretty stupid.” Santana bit back angrily. 

“No, what was stupid was believing Brittany was smart enough to see when she’s being manipulated.” Artie replied, raising his voice. “I saw how close you two were sleeping this morning when I woke up. She should be sharing that kind of intimacy with me, not you.” 

“I-I can’t h-help it what I do in my s-sleep.” Brittany choked out through sobs as she erupted into tears. “S-sometimes I dance. Sometimes I-I kick Lord Tubbington and he f-f-forgives me.” 

“Can you all please lower you voices, it’s too early for this.” Puck mumbled, looking more awkward now that things were getting real. 

“I’m not going to accept second place anymore. Bye Brittany.” Artie said quietly before leaving. Santana pulled Brittany into a tight hug and rubbed her back as she cried, humming nice sounds in her ear. 

“Um, should I come back later?” An adult that could only be Blaine’s dad from the amount of hair gel he was wearing approached them warily with a pair of bolt cutters. 

“No, please, get this thing off of me.” Santana pulled away from Brittany to say, holding out her cuffed wrist. She still held Brittany’s hand though which she thought was nice as she rubbed her eyes. If her smokey eye hadn’t already been smeared over half her face it sure would be now. 

The bolt cutters clipped neatly through the thin chain binding Puck and Santana together, but they agreed to walk back to Brittany’s house to unlock the other set of cuffs rather than breaking them. Puck had left his car at her house anyway and it wasn’t too far. 

“So you wanna come round mine?” Puck asked Santana once they finally got their cuffs unlocked. 

“Nah I'm good.” She replied with a glance at Brittany, who felt her heart lift just a tiny bit. 

“Alright then your loss. Text me if you change your mind.” 

Puck left them standing shyly on the doorstep, suddenly nervous. 

“So I’m guessing you’re probably pretty tired, we were up late last night.” Santana eventually suggested, knotting her fingers in her usual anxious manner. “I’ll leave you to catch up on some sleep?” 

“Actually could you stay for a bit?” Her stomach hurt but not because of the alcohol but because of the mixture of emotions she felt. The main one was sad though, so she didn’t care as much that she was tired and hungover she just craved the one person that would make her feel less sad right now. Santana must’ve picked up on this because her face softened, her posture instantly relaxing. 

“Sure, why don’t we get showered because I swear I smell like tequila, and then we can get into PJs and watch Wonder Woman?” She suggested and Brittany smiled, Wonder Woman always made her feel better. She lent Santana some of her pyjamas - intentionally picking the longest ones she had because she liked how adorable Santana looked with the sleeves and pants hanging over her hands and feet. Santana never rolled the cuffs up though, just shuffled around with the extra fabric flapping. 

They cuddled up on the sofa with a blanket and ice cream whilst they watched the film. They held hands and Santana played with her hair and at one point fell asleep with her head on Brittany’s shoulder. It was just like how they used to hang out, before Artie, and yet it was different too. Brittany knew something had changed between them, but she was too tired to push Santana to talk about it. 

In the afternoon when Santana was about to leave she dawdled unnecessarily for a while before she finally took a deep breath. 

“Brit?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Would you maybe want to go to Breadsticks with me tomorrow?” 

“Of course, why wouldn’t I want to go to Breadsticks?” Brittany asked in confusion and Santana bit her lip. 

“No but like, actually going to Breadsticks.”

“Like a date?” Brittany asked hopefully and Santana smiled. 

“Yeah, like a date.” 

“I would love to.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

_Santana._

 

Santana grinned as she accepted the meatball Brittany had nudged across their shared plate of spaghetti with her nose. 

“You have a little sauce on your nose.” She giggled as Brittany scrubbed at her nose with a napkin. “You missed some to the left - no, your other left. Here, let me.” 

She leaned across the table and gently wiped the smudge of tomato, lingering just a second longer than necessary. She felt butterflies as she gazed at the blonde’s sheepish smile. They were sat in their usual booth at Breadsticks but it was different to usual. Santana hadn’t asked the wait staff to bring her more breadsticks than she could even carry, let alone eat. They weren’t on a double date making guys pay for their meal in exchange for making out in front of them. 

Santana was wearing her nicest dress instead of her Cheerios uniform and she kept flicking glances at Brittany’s hand which rested almost casually on the table, but it was reached across the table slightly more than was natural. Santana knew she wanted her to hold her hand, and _she_ wanted to hold her hand. She just hadn’t managed to work up the courage yet. For a Sunday night Breadsticks was annoyingly busy, she’d even seen freaking Finnchel when they’d walked in. She’d resisted the urge to duck behind the row of tables, but only because Finn’s back was to them, and Rachel was too busy giving him her usual goggly love eyes to notice them. Now that they were officially on a date it was different between them, even though their conversation was mostly the same. Throughout the meal Santana had been on edge, aware of the other diners, worried they would think something was going on between them. It made it harder to enjoy the little things like Brittany wanting to share the same piece of spaghetti like in Lady and the Tramp. She’d managed to convince Brittany that wasn’t practical, but she’d felt a warm feeling when her friend had instead pushed one of her meatballs over to Santana. 

“Santana?” 

“Hmmm?” Santana snapped her attention back, aware that she’d missed the last thing Brittany had said. 

“I asked if you were okay.” 

“Yeah, Brit. I’m really enjoying tonight.” She smiled but Brittany looked dubious. She sighed. “It’s just that there’s a lot of people around.” 

“Oh.” The blonde looked disappointed. “So… you don’t want people to know about us?” 

“I’m just not ready for people to put a label on us, or me.” Santana replied uncomfortably, staring at Brittany’s hand. Her own hand itched to stretch out and take it, and she almost did but then their waiter came over to ask if everything was okay with their dinner and she pulled her own hands back to rest on her lap. 

“But labels help sometimes. Like how I kept losing my Cheerios uniform until you sewed my name into everything for me. And when Lord Tubbington tried to escape the authorities by fleeing to Mexico and that old woman down the street knew who to call from his collar.”  

“That’s different though. You saw what happened to Kurt at this school.”

“But Honey,” Brittany leaned forward as she murmured gently. “If anyone were to ever tease you then you’d either kick their ass or slash them with your vicious, vicious words.” 

“I know, but,” She felt her throat close up as she finally voiced the fears that had taunted her for years now. “I’m so afraid of what they’ll say _behind_ my back.” 

“You show the rest of the school a different side to what you show me. And you know what I think of you?”

“No?” 

“I think you’re the most awesomest girl at school.” Santana felt her smiling despite herself, and dabbed away the tears that were threatening to spill over. “If everyone else saw that side of you then they wouldn’t say anything.” 

“When did you get so smart?” She took a deep breath and slid her hand across the table to rest it gently on Brittany’s. The world didn’t implode upon itself, the people in the nearby booths didn’t even glance over, and Santana felt herself relax a bit. “I want to be your girlfriend, but I’m not ready to tell people just yet. I can understand if you don’t want that, but I was thinking maybe we could keep it private just for the first few weeks and see how it goes? Then we could start by telling those losers in glee club I guess.” 

“Okay.” Brittany simply said, and Santana felt her heart race. 

“Okay?” 

“Okay, I will be your girlfriend, Santana Lopez.” 

Santana felt like her heart was going to explode, she was so happy. She quickly lifted Brittany’s hand and brushed a gentle kiss to her knuckles, enjoying the way her friend, no, her _girlfriend_ , wriggled at the tickling sensation. 

“Do you want to come back to mine?” She asked and when Brittany agreed she quickly pulled out a few bills to leave behind, including a generous tip. “Let’s go.” 

She pulled Brittany by the hand and they were half way out of the restaurant when they bumped into Finn on his way back from the bathroom.

“Hey Santana, Brittany. You two look nice.” He said, looking a little confused. 

“Yeah, some of us make an effort when we go out in public.” Santana snapped, feeling the heat rise in her face. Finn was wearing his usual jeans, t shirt and lumberjack shirt combination. He grinned sheepishly as he looked at his own clothes. 

“Yeah my mom and Burt are out of town and it turns out that laundry is a lot harder than it looks.” 

They got back to Santana’s house and the moment they were through the doorway Santana pushed Brittany into the wall, cushioning the back of her head with a hand threaded through the golden hair. She pinned her body against the taller girl’s as she finally kissed her. Brittany opened her lips against hers eagerly, meeting her intensity with full force. Too soon Santana broke the kiss off, grazing a few butterfly kisses to Brittany’s jawline. 

“I have been wanting to do that all week.” She gasped, realising she held a fistful of Brittany’s skirt.

“I could tell.” The blonde hummed, a smile playing around her lips. “Are your parents home?” 

“No, they’ll be back late.” Santana replied hesitantly. 

“Do you want to go upstairs?” Brittany asked coyly, and Santana’s brain short-circuited. She managed to nod mutely, before she was tugged towards the staircase. It was really happening. She eagerly ran past Brittany, the pair of them giggling when she nearly tripped on one of the steps. 

Once in her bedroom she resumed their passionate kiss, steering Brittany until she was backed up against her bed. She pushed lightly and Brittany fell back onto the mattress with a small shriek. Santana quickly kicked off her own heels before undoing the buckles on Brittany’s, stroking the smooth skin of her calf as she pulled the shoe off. Brittany scooted back on the bed so that her blonde hair spread over Santana’s black pillows as Santana hopped onto the bed after her, straddling her hips. She leant down to kiss her and they both giggled as her long dark hair fell like a curtain before her, tickling all over Brittany’s face. So maybe the Cheerios high pony’s were good for something after all. She swept the hair over one shoulder before returning to the kiss, spreading her knees further apart so that she straddled closer to Brittany’s hips. 

Santana swiped her tongue quickly along Brittany’s lower lip, and the blonde obliged by opening her mouth wider so she could dip her tongue. Brittany’s hands crept up to stroke the skin on her thighs and she felt it straight at her core. She gently prised the hands away from her legs and pinned them above Brittany’s head instead, grinning devilishly as the other girl pouted. She kissed Brittany’s neck and collar bone, making her way closer to her breast before suddenly returning to her lips. 

“Not fair.” Brittany ground out, eyes dark with lust and Santana smirked.

“You made me wait, now it’s your turn.” 

She kissed and stroked and teased for several more minutes before sucking on Brittany’s lower lip. The blonde rocked her hips against her and Santana decided it was time to elevate it. She sat back, releasing Brittany’s hands so that she could unzip her own dress to pull it over her head. She revealed matching black lace underwear, that she’d worn in hopes that her night would end this way though she still scarcely believed it was even happening. 

“Santana…” Brittany murmured, staring up at her slightly dazed. “You are so beautiful.” 

She felt suddenly shy for the first time, ever. Brittany used the opportunity to snake her hands back up her legs, fingers kneading the flesh on her hips whilst her thumbs stroked over the satin of her underwear. She inched her fingers lower so that her thumbs could stroke the inside her of thighs softly. She teased for a while before brushing her knuckles over the lacy satin between Santana’s legs. Santana whimpered, she actually _whimpered,_ her head thrown back and eyes closed. 

“Look at me.” Brittany whispered, but Santana didn’t immediately open her eyes. This was how she did things, eyes closed, or facing another way entirely. So she didn’t realise Brittany’s intention until she felt herself easily flipped over onto her back with such speed that they nearly tumbled off the bed from the momentum. They giggled as they settled back on the bed, this time Santana pinned against the bed but with her legs still wrapped around Brittany’s waist. 

“Hey…” Santana started to object at the change of position, but stopped as Brittany unwrapped her legs from around her and stood up. She started to worry that she’d done something wrong but Brittany just stepped out of her skirt and pulled her top off. Her underwear matched too but hers was sky blue. She crawled back on top of Santana, one leg sliding between Santana’s, parting her thighs slightly to make room. 

Brittany feathered kisses across Santana’s chest as she teased one finger along the edge of her underwear, before slipping her hand beneath the waistband. Santana knew the smug smirk on Brittany’s face was due to her discovery of just how wet she was already. She gasped as Brittany finally touched her, stroking small circles around her clit. She closed her eyes automatically as pleasure radiated through her body, clenching the bed’s duvet in her fists.

“Santana…” Brittany whispered her name again, and she knew to open her eyes. Brittany’s blue eyes held her gaze and she remembered a conversation they’d had a few months before, about how Brittany thought it was better with feelings. Santana had disagreed with her then, but now she knew just how wrong she’d been. Brittany began to increase the intensity of her movement until Santana’s hips were bucking against the mattress and she had to screw her eyes shut as the pleasure became almost unbearable. She let out a soft cry when she felt the release before collapsing back into the pillows, utterly spent. Brittany followed her down, kissing her briefly before rolling onto her side, head propped up on her elbow as she admired her handiwork. 

“Brit…” Santana panted, her brain still scrambled. 

“Yeah?” Brittany grinned at her, so damn pleased with herself. 

“That was…” She trailed off, still not able to form a coherent thought. 

“Yeah.” The other girl nodded, knowing what she was trying to express. 

“Thank you.” Santana simply said, and Brittany giggled. 

“Feel free to make it up to me at any time.” 

“How about now?” Santana said, rolling Brittany onto her back and sliding down her body, trailing kisses lower down her abdomen. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

 

Epilogue:

 

Santana practically skipped into school the next morning, her pinky finger linked with Brittany’s. It was awkward when they passed Artie on the car park, he clearly regretted breaking up with Brittany and come on, who wouldn’t. Santana decided not to say anything, she’d try to be a bit nicer to the dweeb, at least for a while until they told people about their relationship. She thought people would somehow know about them as they walked the corridors, but nobody acted any different and she reassured herself that she was being stupid. Santana tried to find Mr Schue in the morning so she could get the broken half of her handcuff off, but he was apparently scoping out the competition at another high-school so she had to wait until glee club. 

“What happened?” Schuester asked incredulously, eyeing up her manacled wrist. 

“It was an accident.” Santana replied simply, not wanting to go into details as it involved alcohol. 

“Well I have to say that I’m disappointed in you Santana. I thought that you would’ve lasted the week.” 

“I did. This happened on Friday night. See, Artie isn’t wearing the other half.” She jerked her head over to the corner where Artie was sat looking glum. Schuester frowned like he thought it was her fault Artie was looking so upset, and well, she guessed it kind of was. But mostly it was his own fault. 

“I’m not sure which is the right key so we’ll have to try them all.” He answered instead, pulling out a handful of keys. “So you all seem to be getting along quite well, was my lesson successful?” 

“No, and you’re a complete and utter sadist.” Santana snarked as the third key they tried popped the cuff open with a tiny click. She massaged her wrist, glancing over at where Brittany was chatting amicably with Tina. Well perhaps the week hadn’t been a _total_ loss then, there was definitely some good that came from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it and didn't notice too many of the glaringly obvious plot holes!


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